Download or read book The Meaning of Fossils written by M. J. S. Rudwick and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1985-06-15 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An absorbing history of changing views of what fossils are and how they contribute to an understanding of the history of the earth. Rudwick makes ample use of primary sources ranging in time from the first book with illustrations of fossils (1565) to O.C. Marsh's study of horse evolution in the 1870s. He documents the first attempts to collect groups of fossils, determine whether they were the remains of organisms, relate the fossils to their surrounding rock strata, and integrate fossil evidence into the concept of evolution"--Back cover.